Project C4 is concerned with the machining of NiTi-SMA. Prior research concerning the micro-milling of these alloys will be expanded to deepen the so far acquired knowledge 

and to cover the most recent demands and developments in the area of shape memory and micro machining.  Thus, a major aim is the reduction of the structural size of tools 

and workpieces by a magnitude from 100 µm to 10 µm. Experiments of the previous years proved the non-linearity of prevalent effects when reducing the size of the tools and 

the according cutting data. This calls for an appropriate design of the micro machining processes, especially when machining NiTi. These processes are necessary if it comes to 

the manufacturing of simple structures, such as stents. 

The emphasis of the process analysis will be on the peripheral zone of the workpiece in order to estimate the quality of the processes. In addition, standard procedures like 

overall machining quality and tool wear are of interest. The successful mastering of these processes offers completely new possibilities of application, like micro milling of NiTi 

foil or the structuring of medical micro tubes. Thus, the machining technologies enter scales of micro technology which have been subject of laser machinery so far.  

The main emphasis of the current period is the adaptation of a laser supported micro gundrilling process to the special properties of NiTi SMA. This innovative area of research 

has not been investigated so far, neither with conventional materials. The last period of the special research center SFB 459 showed several applications of NiTi with the need 

of micro- structured holes. Thus, based upon the concentrated experience of the project C4 concerning macroscopic gundrilling of NiTi, the Institute of Machining Technology 

(ISF) is investigating the complex mechanism of the combination of mechanical chip removal and lasercutting on a microscopic scale.